Approaching Tinytown

Posted by Damon Schreiber (Toronto, Canada) on 10 March 2007 in Cityscape & Urban and Portfolio.

We are entering the week known in most of North America as 'March Break' when many northerners fly to southern locations for a bit of sunlight. Electro will not be going this year, but he is sending the Electroblog on a virtual vacation in México. This series will be a trip through time and space to a vacation I actually took nearly three years ago. While I can't go anywhere this week, there's no reason not to dream...

I took this as the plane landed in Mexico City - long before I was aware of the technique of fake tilt-shifts to make real objects look like miniatures. The blurring was the effect of the superheated air coming out of the jet engine.

High-res here.

[near Benito Juarez airport in Mexico City]

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Comments (14)

Peter Martin Jorgensen from Aalborg, Denmark

I knew nothing about fake tilt shift until I saw this shot. Very inspiring.
Cool shot. It really does look tiny.
Great work

10 Mar 2007 8:33am

@Peter Martin Jorgensen: Thanks, Peter! You can read more about the technique here. Looks like you've got it down pat, though.

Behrooz from Tehran, Iran

Cool shot, Damon! I could have never guessed.

10 Mar 2007 10:52am

@Behrooz: Thanks, Behrooz!

Angry Buddha from United States

Cool mini effect!

10 Mar 2007 1:31pm

@Angry Buddha: Thanks, Sean!

x.wong from Beijing, China

wonderful colour!!!!!

10 Mar 2007 4:44pm

@x.wong: Many thanks, X.Wong! All credit for the colours to Mexico!

Still from Valence, France

Interesting ! It looks like a building game for children!

10 Mar 2007 9:27pm

@Still: Thanks, Still! That's what I thought when I first saw the photo. If I hadn't taken it myself from an airplane window, I might have been fooled myself.

Daniel from United States

Looks like a model town!

10 Mar 2007 11:19pm

@Daniel: Indeed! And ironically, Tinytown is one of the largest cities in the world. Thanks, Daniel!

Martine Lapointe from Québec, Canada

I agree with Daniel and Still!. I thought that it was a model before I read your text!

11 Mar 2007 2:13am

@Martine Lapointe: Merci, Martine! Parait comme ça, mais on peut voir deux personnes trés petits marchant près de la voiture noire.

Duncan Galbraith from kyoto, Japan

i really wanna try this. Aaron posted a few shots a while back and they looked cool, cool and weird. he blurred his to get this, never wouldve thought youd get the same effect from looking out the window ;-). blurrings cheaper mind.

11 Mar 2007 4:08pm

@Duncan Galbraith: Aye, Mexicana's Jet Blur tool is even better than Photoshop's Gaussian Blur. It's worth the expense!

Alfredo J. Martiz J. from Tokyo, Japan

This is really cool Damon, I will like to try this technique as well, looks amazing =)

11 Mar 2007 5:48pm

@Alfredo J. Martiz J.: It's amazing how the eye can be fooled. Thanks, Alfredo!

frisky? from san francisco, United States

oh yea this works! nice job on the simluted tilt shift.

12 Mar 2007 12:09am

Fred from Easton PA, United States

Great effect and I enjoyed the story behind it too.
It's funny you did with a jet engine what I've been trying to pull off with photoshop for weeks lol.
Nice work !

12 Mar 2007 11:02pm

@Fred: Thanks, Fred! And you were so close to jets at the airport! Looks like you missed a golden opportunity.

Zach Siebert from Bologna, Italy

i love virtual vacations! i once took a vacation from myself just by growing a mustache.....
really cool photo. btw: do you don't you know the elusive tilt-shift photoshop techniques?

12 Mar 2007 11:17pm

@Zach Siebert: Thanks Zach! Do I don't know? Non capisco, amico.